have you ever heard that term?  my mom uses it alot to describe Charlotte…as in “she’s so growny”.  (i think it’s slang for “grown up”) i snuck into her room this morning and was thinking how sweet and baby-ish she looked as she was sleeping…and then she woke up :)  all of a sudden, it was obvious that she is turning into a little girl.  i’m not sure how many of my blog readers out there have 2 year olds, but i am LOVING this age…aren’t you?  she’s a built-in friend, traveler, shopping companion, dancing partner, etc.  oh - and yes she is now officially potty trained.  *sniff*  as the cheesy pull-ups commercial says “i’m a big girl now”.  yes, she is.  she’s SO growny.

remember these shots?  yes, i know, she looks SO different already…don’t remind me

my favorite:

now go hug your kids

I finally took my own advice and hired a photographer for our family…and I’m so glad we finally did! (the self portraits of the 3 of us at arms length weren’t exactly display worthy!) I wanted to find someone with a similar style as my own, as well as someone who also had lil ones at home and could relate well to Charlotte.  I was fortunate to get in with Jenny Lein for our family session, and she posted a sneak peek on her blog for us here.  I gasped out loud when I saw the first one of Charlotte.  As a photographapher’s child, Charlotte just does not give me those smiles anymore!  She sees the camera and instantly all she gives me is a serious face…which makes for those nice moody portraits that I love…but not 99% of the time!  :)  So I was thrilled to see a giant grin on her face!  and the ones of her with Matt & I…sigh.  Total tearjerkers.  Guess I’ll need to get the kleenex ready for when the full gallery is unveiled!  Now to go hide the pocketbook…

Enjoy a lil glimpse into our family - from behind someone else’s camera for a change!

Last night, I had the amazing privilege of photographing a dear friend’s birth. Even as I type this, it’s hard to put into words how I feel.    I have been in awe since last night.  I was amazed by the human body and what it can endure for the sake of another.  I’m overwhelmed with emotion with I see a baby, minutes old, quiet and settle the moment she is placed on her mother’s chest.  I’m proud of the father as he holds his wife’s hand, telling her how much he loves her…pride burstng forth for her.  I’m proud of all women as I watch a doula gently support and guide this laboring mother.  This mother, who gave birth her way.  How she wanted, where she wanted.  Who showed so much strength that I could only wish to have at such a time.  There’s so many more thoughts running through my head that I can’t even collect them.  I think I’ll let the images speak for themselves.  Here’s just a tiny sampling of the day.

For more information on birth photography, including pricing, please email me. 

she is my hero.

because she makes me see things in a different light.

because she makes me laugh so hard it hurts.

because she is a free spirit.

because she is innocent.

because she is unabashedly silly.

because she loves life.

because she greets each day with joy.

because she has never experienced grief.

because she’s tiny, but strong.

because she’s the best of me and the man i married.

because she gives me a reason to hope.

because she never holds a grudge.

because she is kind.

because she is everything i want to be when i grow up.

because she’s…her.

(taken at the Labor Day parade - where she got her fair share of candy)

I want to give a quick update for those of you that have asked regarding my follow up appt today. 

The biopsy samples that were taken all came back free of cancerous cells.  There was a short sigh of relief, followed by a “but”. Because of the size of the largest nodule (golf ball-sized), the tiny sample taken is not a 100% accurate indication of benign vs malignant.   We knew this was a possibility going in.  The dr said if all the nodules were very small, he would most likely recommend just watching them.  However, since one of them is large, with a smaller one attached to it, he recommends removal and sending them off for testing.  Removal of the 2 nodules would also involve removing half of the thyroid…which would result in being on lifelong thyroid medicine to supplement.   Without going into too many details…we are seriously considering surgery.  Doing so would give us definite answers regarding malignancy that we just don’t have right now.  In order to really “move on”, we need those answers.  There are many variables to consider depending on the results after surgery, but we are trying not to get ahead of ourselves. 

We need to spend some time in prayer considering what God would have us to do.  Right now we are looking at doing the surgery in early October.  I hate the thought of having it done, but it seems to be a necessary evil at this point.  It’s stressful knowing that there is something there that could be harmless, benign…or could be cancerous. The future for our family is very uncertain right now, and many dreams and plans are being placed in God’s hands.  We don’t understand why this is happening, if only to glorify Christ in our lives even more.  We have no choice but to trust Him and allow Him to take our dreams for our family and mold them into His. 

Thank you for your prayers & encouragement.  We ask for your continued prayers, and that as do, you would pray that this verse would be manifested in our lives.  It’s our heart’s desire and yet it doesn’t come easily. 

1 Peter 1:6-7  “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

Whew.  I think that’s enough personal/heavy stuff for awhile.  Some more lighthearted posts to come very soon…thanks everyone for hanging in there!

This little girl stole my heart (only for the session, no worries to Charlotte) :)  Her parents made a long drive to see me early Saturday morning -and little M was so laid back and sweet.  She just celebrated her 1st birthday, and I think we captured this milestone very well

J & L- It was so nice to finally hang out with you!  I hope you enjoyed your day in Bloomington!  Enjoy this little peak

 I just love this one of her & her daddy…just think J, someday you’ll look at this picture on her wedding day, and wonder where the time went.  i bet even then, as she stands before you as a bride and not a little girl, that you’ll still remember how her neck smelled that day.  some things you never forget :) 

I love getting to photograph family members of previous clients.  This lil guy is the cousin of the cutie in the last post.  Their mommas are sisters, and are both some of the nicest people I’ve met!  It was fun to shoot these 2 back to back

Is he not the CUTEST!?  Those cheeks, those lips, those eyebrows…oh I could just eat him up!

for fun I thought I’d include an outtake…I always have fun outtakes from kid sessions, esp this age.  This one was just too funny to not post!  I love how mom’s shirt is covered in grass from wrestling him while Dad’s hands are quickly trying to get C’s pants back on…all while C is less than amused! That’s lifestyle photography for ya, LOL!

Thanks C’s mom & dad for helping me create some precious images for you!  Enjoy the peek!

Stacey - I was telling your sister this morning at HER session that I am thisclose to being doing with your gallery…just a few more hrs and we should be there!  Hopefully tomorrow morning I’ll have everything online for ya!  To tide you over another 24 hrs…here’s a quick peek at my favorite image from the entire session!  LOVE!  I’ve already told my husband it’s going to be my first mother-child canvas sample!  I’m ordering a bunch of canvases today for samples and this one is definitely on the list!  Yippee! 

Thanks for your your patience!

Somebody got bangs. 

Yesterday went smoothly, and aside from a really sore neck, I feel like myself.  Thanks again for the well-wishes!  I am just starting to dig back into the pile of work that accumulated while I was “away”.  I appreciate the patience from the G & C family as I know it’s hard to wait for your gallery

These snapshots are from a few weeks ago.  She’s had her bangs cut since then.  Oh my goodness, you would not believe how adorable she looks with bangs, but of course, I have no picture of it to prove it.  Bad photographer-mom, I know :)  I’m working  on it - hopefully in the next week or so I hope to get some new shots of her taken.  I have a million ideas - I just need the time to execute them

A nightly ritual - bed jumping!

Oh yah - and she’s potty learning!  She’s doing amazing!  Yay! 

That’s all for today!

xo